Hedge Funds? Only if You Like Lots of Risk

``So, how have hedge funds performed? Last year, 2008, was their worst year ever, though it was terrible for almost all investors. Hedge Fund Research, a Chicago firm that tracks the industry, reported that the average hedge fund lost 18.3 percent, only the second year of losses since 1990. This could be seen as success, since the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index lost 37 percent. But it was still disappointing for investors who thought the whole idea was to make money no matter what the markets did, and the industry suffered from record withdrawals.''